Good afternoon Chair Detert and Senators of the Committee.  I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you and to provide a statement for your consideration.

I have now been serving in Governor Scott’s administration for over three years, first in his counsel’s office and for the past fifteen months as the head of the Department of Economic Opportunity.  I feel very fortunate to have had these opportunities to serve the people of Florida, and am especially grateful for the chance to implement the sound economic policies that Governor Scott and this Legislature have enacted over the last three years.

Florida’s economy is resurgent and our economic turnaround is leading the nation.  As Governor Scott announced this morning, our unemployment rate has fallen from a recession high of 11.4 percent to 6.1 percent, the second largest decline in the nation and below the national average for the ninth straight month.  The private sector in Florida has added more than 500,000 jobs since December 2010, and we have a job growth rate that consistently outpaces national growth.  Job demand is at a record high, with 278,000 openings as of last month.  Tourism, and the revenue that comes with it, is also at record levels, with nearly 95 million visitors in 2013.  Our state is competing for business relocations and expansions that, just a few short years ago, would have been unthinkable.  Our partner, Enterprise Florida, has been recognized by national publications for its recent efforts in economic development, and our state as a whole is consistently recognized as one of the most business-friendly in the nation.

These positive developments are not happening by chance.  Policy matters.  By keeping taxes low and regulation sensible, Governor Scott and this Legislature have created the pro-growth environment that has fostered Florida’s nation-leading economic turnaround.  To work these past fifteen months at the agency that is at the forefront of implementing many of these policies has been fulfilling and rewarding.

Indeed, as I’ve interacted with Floridians from around the state, I’ve come to understand that our economic turnaround is not just about the unemployment rate and job counts.  It’s about people’s lives.  Those half-a-million jobs are a new start for families in this state who were devastated by the recession.  The 95 million tourists are income for family businesses that struggled in recent years to make ends meet.  The 278,000 job openings are a promise for the future for those still struggling or looking to advance.  Working at DEO has taught me that policy matters to people’s lives, and that we at the Department have to remember that each and every day.

When I appeared before the Senate last year for confirmation, I pledged that transparency, accountability, and efficiency would be the watchwords of my tenure at DEO.  I also noted that the agency was still in its infancy, and that I would endeavor to realize the vision of the 2011 legislation that created DEO out of three legacy agencies.  A year later, I am pleased to report the progress we have made on several fronts.

As a general matter, I can report that the three distinct agencies that originally formed DEO have melded into a single culture pursuing a unified mission.  Through a variety of agency-wide initiatives, we have strengthened the ties between economic, community, and workforce programs, while also streamlining agency operations and advancing employee morale and development.

In a confirmation hearing last week, I catalogued accomplishments across the agency, but in the interest of time I will focus on the Division of Strategic Business Development and the Division of Workforce Services, the work of which is most relevant to this Committee.

The Division of Strategic Business Development is charged with coordinating, vetting, and monitoring the State’s economic incentives.  Over the past year, the Division has revamped its policies and processes to ensure that taxpayer money is smartly invested and well protected.  The Division has implemented an enhanced, standardized, and more effective due diligence process, and has also standardized and augmented clawback requirements and other protections of taxpayer investments.  At the same time, the Division has greatly improved its working relationship with Enterprise Florida so that businesses and consultants encounter a streamlined and efficient process.

The Division has also focused on increasing transparency in economic development.  On October 1 of last year, we launched the enhanced incentives portal, a first-of-its kind website that allows the public to view and research comprehensive information on all non-confidential incentive deals with an executed contract.

The Division has also advanced its long-term planning role by releasing the Florida Strategic Plan for Economic Development, the culmination of eighteen months of collaboration with partners around the state.    

The Division of Workforce Services has also made great strides in the last year.  With respect to workforce development, the Division, in cooperation with our partner, CareerSource Florida, developed and implemented a new, more rigorous training program for statewide workforce development staff.

The Division has also advanced two initiatives to ensure that Floridians can use economic data to shape their education and career decisions.  In December, in partnership with the Department of Education, we published the Economic Security Report, which allows students and parents to make informed choices, by reporting college and university educational outcomes as measured by employment, earnings, continuing education, debt, and receipt of public assistance.

Likewise, our Bureau of Labor Market Statistics is also continuing to perfect our Occupational Supply & Demand system, a nationally acclaimed web-based tool that compares total labor supply against short- and long-term labor demands.  This powerful system allows job seekers, employers, economic development officials, and policymakers to calibrate to a changing job market.

The Division has also spent the last year focusing on workforce populations that deserve special attention.  We have partnered with Attorney General Bondi and other state agencies to highlight and combat the scourge of human trafficking, especially in the agricultural and migrant workforce.  We have partnered with the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Military Affairs, and the Florida National Guard to ensure that economic opportunities are available for veterans and military families.  And we are partnering with the Governor’s Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities to develop a web portal featuring resources and opportunities for this population.

With respect to Reemployment Assistance, as this Committee knows, in October 2013, the Division launched Connect, a multi-year redesign of a thirty-year-old, obsolete computer system.  My presentations to the Senate in January and last November focused on the technical problems that surrounded the launch and some claimant delays that resulted, but I am pleased to report that we have turned the corner and claimant service in the RA unit is now better than performance under the old system. 

For example, in our adjudication unit, we now have less than 3,000 active cases, a number far below the nearly 50,000 active cases present in the old system just before the launch of Connect.  The age of those cases has also been significantly reduced.  As is the case in all states and by design of the program, there will always be an active adjudication caseload, and the number of cases will fluctuate with economic, policy, and staff changes.  But the bottom line is that we have we resolved the delays caused by Connect’s launch and even worked through the caseload carried in the old system.

Our Contact Center is also seeing significantly reduced call volume.  For the last six weeks we have been able to answer all unique callers to the Contact Center.  For example, last week we received 46,800 total calls from 27,800 unique numbers, and we had 43,400 live customer interactions.  Indeed, Contact Center performance is now at a level better than any in recent memory, and is well exceeding performance just prior to the launch of Connect.

These performance improvements have resulted from technical fixes to the system, policy changes at the agency, increased staff, improved management practices, and an improving economy with fewer overall claimants.  From a technical standpoint, on February 28, DEO was able to certify that our vendor had fixed all known high-impact defects.  Remaining defects are being addressed during the normal course of the warranty period. 

In sum, while the launch of Connect was not as smooth as we had hoped for, the agency has been able to recover in a few months, and service from a claimant perspective is now better than it was prior to Connect’s launch.  Additional challenges may, of course, arise, but we will do what is necessary to serve Floridians, fix problems, and optimize performance.

In closing, then, I think it is fair to say the Department has had a very busy year, with many accomplishments.  Like any large and complex organization, we faced our share of challenges.  But I would submit that the measure of leadership is not whether the challenges come, but how the agency reacts when they inevitably do come.  I am proud of the staff at DEO and all of our accomplishments these past fifteen months.  I am grateful for their service and support, as my record is a reflection of their hard work.  I am also grateful to Governor Scott for his confidence in me and my team.  Being a part of his administration and the economic turnaround he has helped foster is one of the great professional privileges of my life.

I thank the Committee for considering my nomination and I welcome any questions you may have.